Gas turbine fed by gas produced from biomass pyrolysis

The first industrial IPCC plant fed by biomass using a slow pyrolysis process to produce gas and wood coal is operating in Terni- Italy from the beginning of 2004. The plant provides about 4 MWe, when it is fed by 4 t/h of natural biomass (i.e. all natural materials used as energy sources) with a maximum humidity content of 20%. The article refers to the problems faced to reach a stable operation of the pyrolyser and to obtain a gas able to bum in a commercial gas turbine, without any modification of the combustion chamber. In addition, the characterization of tar components are discussed and economical possibilities to recover tar compounds are compared. The process is able to produce energy from biomass and from different kinds of residues, at really high efficiency compared with other conventional technologies: an economical analysis is made.